Wireless communication networks typically include wireless communication devices which, via a wireless access node, communicate with further communication networks and equipment. Recently, a growing demand for mobile high speed data transfers has resulted in the publication of several internet protocol (IP) mobility protocols as standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). These mobile IP standards attempt to solve the problem of a wireless communication device roaming within a network by providing location-independent routing of data packets.
Using mobile IP, a wireless communication device is associated with a home wireless network and an anchored home IP address. The home wireless network includes a home agent that stores information about the wireless communication device. When the wireless communication device roams into a foreign wireless network, the device is associated with a care-of-address which identifies its current location, and the home address is associated with the local endpoint of a tunnel to the home agent. Mobile IP specifies how a wireless communication device registers with its home agent and how the home agent routes packets to and from the wireless device through the tunnel.
Simple IP is another IP mobility standard. Unlike mobile IP, simple IP does not require routing packets through a tunnel to a home agent of a wireless communication device. Instead, under the simple IP protocol, a wireless communication device receives a dynamic IP from a local packet data service node (PDSN) in a visited wireless network and the visited wireless network provides a direct routing service for the wireless communication device. In the simple IP protocol, a wireless communication device must obtain a new IP address (and lose existing connections) every time it changes its point of attachment. Thus, when the wireless communication device moves from a coverage area of one PDSN to another PDSN, a change in the packet data session occurs when a new IP address is assigned by the new PDSN.
Overview
A method of operating an authorization system in a home wireless network is disclosed, wherein a wireless communication device associated with the home wireless network transfers a request to a visited wireless network for access to an internet. The method comprises receiving an authorization request for the wireless communication device transmitted from the visited wireless network. The method further comprises, in response to the authorization request, selecting one of a visited internet connection and a home internet connection for the wireless communication device, wherein the visited internet connection links the wireless communication device to the internet without using the home wireless network and wherein the home internet connection links the wireless communication device to the internet through the home wireless network. The method further comprises transferring an authorization response for delivery to the visited wireless network indicating the selected one of the visited internet connection or the home internet connection, wherein the visited wireless network provides the access to the internet in response to the authorization response.
An authorization system in a home wireless network comprises a communication interface and a processing system, wherein a wireless communication device associated with the home wireless network transfers a request to a visited wireless network for access to an internet. The communication interface is configured to receive an authorization request for the wireless communication device transmitted from the visited wireless network. The processing system is configured to, in response to the authorization request, select one of a visited internet connection and a home internet connection for the wireless communication device and direct the communication interface to transfer an authorization response for delivery to the visited wireless network, wherein the visited internet connection links the wireless communication device to the internet without using the home wireless network and wherein the home internet connection links the wireless communication device to the internet through the home wireless network. The communication interface is configured to transfer the authorization response for delivery to the visited wireless network indicating the selected one of the visited internet connection or the home internet connection, wherein the visited wireless network provides the access to the internet in response to the authorization response.